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T/Uew/bor y Mmm Patented Maj 14. 1889..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES T. CLARK, OF MILVAUKEEVISCONSIN; MARY F. CLARK ADMINIS- TRATRIX OF`SAID JAMES T. CLARK, DECEASED.

RAILWAY SPLlCE-BAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,251, dated May 14,1889.

Application filed July l5, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES T. CLARK, of the city and county of Milwaukee,and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railway Splice-Bars; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, andto the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to the splice-bars or fish-plates employed to unitethe adjacent ends of railway-rails, and their combination with therails, which they support and unite; and it consists, essentially, ingiving those splice-bars a particular form and proportion, fitting themfor the purpose designed to be accomplished by them.

The object of my invention is to secure a railway-track which shall havea uniform vertical resistance and flexibility, so that the track shallbe as nearly as possible in that respect what it would be if the railswere continuous throughout their length, instead of being formed ofseparate rails joined by inechanical connections.

It is well known that absolute rigidity in railroad-rails isundesirable, as it would produce greater vibration and thereby injureboth the rolling stock and the rails themselves. There is a certainamount of vertical deflection in every rail under the weight of apassing train-wheel, which deflection travels along the rail like waveson the surface of water. If the rail be uniformly vertically flexible,this wave of deflection will be of constant depth, and consequently thewheel will move in a horizontal line, notwithstanding the yielding ofthe rail; but if the rail be of unequal stiffness, the moving wheel mustdrop at the weakest points and rise at the stiffer points, and therebythe same effect would be produced that would be found to result frominequalities in the upper surface of the rail. To avoid suchdifficulties, I secure uniform flexibility in the line of united railsby makin gthe splice-bars of increasing thickness and Serial No.208,089. (No model.)

stiffness, so as to compensate for the decreasing stiffness of the railas its end is approached, and also by making the thickness and stiffnessof the splice-bar decrease with the increasing stiffness of the nextrail as its extremity is receded from. I accomplish this by making thesplice-bars Athickest at their centers, which are opposite the ends ofthe rails, and making them taper therefrom toward their extremities, ashereinafter shown. 6o

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side eleva-tion of myimproved device. Fig.

2 is a horizontal longitudinal section thereof,

on the line x in Fig. l, and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section onthe line y y in Figs. l and 2.

A A are two adjacent rails. between them.

C C are my improved splicebars, the form and construction of which areshown in the 7o several figures. I prefer to form them with abase-flange, n, resting on the ties in the same plane with the base ofthe rail and outside of the outer edges of the same; but this is notessential, as I may employ splice-bars without such a lower flange. Theupperedge and lower inside edge of the splice-bars are fitted to thehead and base of the rail, as shown at z' 'L' and lo 7c, Fig. 3, in theusual manner.

The upright fiange H of the splice-bar, and 8o the bar itself when thelower flange, n, is discal'de il, is tapered lengthwise,as shown inhorizontal section in Fig. 2.

The size of the splice-bar and extent and degree of taper must of coursebe proportioned to the size of the rail employed.

For use with a rail weighing fifty-six to sixtyseven pounds per yard, Imake the splice-bars forty inches long, seven-eighths of an inch thickat the center, and sevensixteenths of 9o an inch thick at the ends ofthe upright or tapered flange H. The taper is nearly uniform, or, as Iprefer to make it, the arc of a circle with thirty-eight feet radius,passing through two given points forty inches apart, and the other orinner line of the horizontal section of the tapered flange is a straightline drawn parallel to the chord of the arc and seven-sixteenths of aninch nearer the center of the circle from which the arc is struck.

B is the joint IOO The splice-har is perforated at e e forfastening-bolts (Z d in the usual way, and also notched at s s whenformed with the basefiange n for the spikes.

The special form of my spliee-bar may he Varied without departing fromthe principle 0f my invent-ion or its general construction. I considerit essential, however, that the splice-bar should taper with approximateregularity from its center toward eaeh end.

I Construct my splice-bar of wrought or rolled iron or steel, so as tomake it fiexihle, like the rail to which it is applied.

l. An elastic railway splice-bar, of Wrought or rolled metal, taperinguniformly, or nearly so, from its center to its extremities, andprovided with the usual means of fastening to the rails, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of two railway-rails and one or more elasticsplice-bars, tapering uniformly, or nearly so, from their center totheir extremities, so as to make the wave of deflection of continuouslyuniform depth, or nearly so, and provided with the usual means ofattachment to the rails, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

An elastic railway splice-har, of wrought or rolled metal, taperinguniformly, 0r nearly so, from its center to its extremities, andprovided with the usual moans of fastening,` to the rails, and havingits inner Wall straight, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I afiix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

JAMES l. CLARK.

lVi tn esses:

O. F. CLARK, E. III. Immun.

